


The Aftermath

by vans0nhead717



Series: Choices, Stars, Ashes, and Wishes [1]
Category: Darker Than Black
Genre: Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Epiphanies, F/F, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29931072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vans0nhead717/pseuds/vans0nhead717
Summary: Broken hearts, broken dolls, broken starsAt least Misaki has Kanami to talk to
Relationships: Ishizaki Kanami & Kirihara Misaki
Series: Choices, Stars, Ashes, and Wishes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201244
Kudos: 2





	The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> i love kanami so much, and yes, she will be important later in the series

Misaki was relaxed on her couch when Kanami finally sat down next to her, handing her a glass of wine as she rolled her eyes.

"You had to have known," Kanami scolded. "Some part of you _must have been sure."_

Misaki had finally gotten a break from work, a full four days after the peak in the sunspot cycle. The first thing she found when she got home was Kanami sitting on her couch, tapping her foot anxiously and glaring at Misaki with _murder_ in her eyes.

"I was sure," Misaki admitted sheepishly, "Since the night Jack died. Since the office building. His mask was shattered, and I saw his face."

That had been a whole different fight, when Kanami found out Misaki was present for that incident. Not a fun phone call for Misaki, primarily because Kanami was livid she put her life in danger, but also because of what she learned about Li - no, Hei.

"I'm gonna lay out my understanding of this, and you can correct anything I get wrong," Kanami said, her harsh gaze unyielding as Misaki nodded slowly.

"July leads you to Jack. The building almost explodes, and I violate my superior's orders, and inform you that the reading we got off of - what's his real name, Hei? - whatever, BK-201's star was acting _identically_ to the reading that matched with the destruction of Heaven's Gate, and only two spectrum levels away for that matter. I tell you that _not only_ are you lucky to have made it out alive, but we're lucky he stopped before he _eradicated all of Tokyo."_

Kanami took a single breath before continuing, "You realize that Li, the guy you have been drooling over for months, is BK-201. The following night you see him, and instead of pulling your gun, you _take him out to dinner._ You hit baseballs with him, and not even once, mention what you know."

Misaki nodded hesitantly as Kanami's expression softened significantly. "I get it, I do. He didn't destroy Heaven's Gate. And he didn't destroy Hell's Gate, or even kill Hourai. Yes, it is good that you didn't kill him, or even just arrest him. I'm happy the contractors and dolls didn't die out, and I'm happy Tokyo didn't get destroyed. But still, even still, you didn't know that! So, my only real question is, _what in the absolute fucking hell were you thinking?"_

Misaki sighed, looking sadly at Kanami as she replied, "I didn't wanna believe it. And besides, Hei saved my life - and Saito's - more than once. I hoped that he'd choose not to hurt me again, and I was right."

"I still don't understand," Kanami began, "how he got his sister's power after Heaven's Gate. Or how you figured that out."

"The scientist who designed the Syndicate's weapon," Misaki explained. "I was wondering what was wrong with him, because he didn't act like a contractor. Even when it didn't benefit him, he still had all of these weird human traits. Then he told me he was in a war, and that his sister didn't make it out. It wasn't until the scientist told me that the original assignee for BK-201 was a young _girl,_ that it clicked for me."

"I get that much," Kanami said, "but how did _he_ end up with it."

"I think I have an answer for that too. The pandora scientist, Schroeder, he told us that the way Hei destroyed the Saturn Ring was similar to the way humans become contractors. He somehow... changed the particles. Maybe she did something similar," Misaki explained, shrugging slightly.

"See, you're smart!" Kanami yelled, half in annoyance, half in amusement, "So how are you _foolish_ enough to go on a date with BK-201!"

"He never hurt me," Misaki murmured.

Kanami relaxed, taking a large sip of wine before she composed herself and said, "Look. I'm not really that mad at you, but you _have_ to understand that whether he hurt you or not isn't the point I'm trying to make. Date a contractor if you want and I won't judge, as long as they're not terrible. I've never been under any illusion that they're all selfish murderers, and if anything, Evening Primrose only proved that. But you've seen his dossier. You know what he's capable of."

Misaki nodded slowly, looking sadly out her window. "Anyways, I saw him two days ago near his apartment. But I didn't catch up to him in time."

"That's probably for the best," Kanami said, reaching over to hold Misaki's hand, "You wouldn't have been able to arrest him."

It was less a question, and more a statement, but the implication behind it wasn't lost. Had Misaki caught up to him, she definitely _wouldn't_ have taken him in, and the knowledge that she allowed him to get away would only further eat her up inside.

"By the way," Kanami murmured, "his star is showing odd activity."

Misaki's eyebrows raised slightly as Kanami continued, "Have I ever shown you what a star does when a contractor makes their payment?" Misaki shook her head. "It enters into a different phase where it emits a unique radiation spectrum - one that the stars never give off during other activity. Anyways, that was always one of the strangest things about his star. It entered typical activity frequently, but his star never moved into the payment phase - at least not since Heaven's Gate disappeared."

Kanami frowned for a moment. "But two nights ago, his star went dark, the way a star does right before it falls. Then it returned to normal again, which I've _never seen happen before._ I had Ootsuka pour through past analysis, and apparently, no star has _ever_ returned to normal after going dark. And yesterday, his star signaled a single use of his power, and then entered the payment phase."

Misaki stayed silent for a moment, simply staring at the glass in her hands. "I wonder what happened. Any other Astronomics updates?"

Kanami nodded. "UB-001. I told you her star disappeared when the Syndicate activated the Saturn Ring, which is _another_ thing I've never seen before. It reappeared two days ago, but Hanada didn't get to tell me until last night."

"Any activity since?"

Kanami simply shook her head, taking a long sip from her glass. "Anyway, that's pretty much it on my end. Oh, actually, we finally managed to get a rough tally of the death total from the attack, at least as far as Evening Primrose goes, and came up with sixty seven contractors and nineteen dolls."

Misaki's face fell into confusion as she asked, "How do you track dolls?"

"Same way we do contractors," Kanami said, "They have stars as well, just smaller and their activity functions differently. They only emit synchrotron radiation when they appear, and immediately before they fall. It's just lesser known, since identifying one particular doll's star is almost impossible, so we don't really bother to track them as much."

Kanami frowned for a moment. "Twenty-seven contractor's stars made it out of the sector that day, and four dolls." She paused for a moment, looking somberly at her glass. "It's sad, honestly. I know everyone says they shouldn't be able to 'feel,' but I don't believe it one bit. I've seen enough from the dolls in Astronomics, and others, to know that they feel something... even if a lot of them can't make choices on their own. At least with the contractors in EPR, they chose to fight knowing they could die. But the dolls..."

"It is sad..." Misaki said softly, thinking of her interactions with July, and his feelings for November. "But nineteen dolls dying, against every doll on the planet..."

"I know." Kanami replied. "It still sucks though."

Misaki nodded, placing her glass on the table and laying her head against Kanami's shoulder. "I know it's absolutely idiotic for me to feel this way," she murmured sadly, "but when he ran away... it made me really sad. I just hoped that he'd trust me, one last time."

"Maybe he did," Kanami said softly, wrapping a gentle arm around Misaki as she looked up at her. "Maybe him leaving was because he trusted you."

Misaki sighed, rolling her eyes as she replied, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kanami didn't miss a beat before she quietly said, "You told me that Hei said he liked Tokyo. He must care, he saved it, and then saved you from Hourai and spared you. It would have been a hundred times easier, and safer for him, to just wipe it out. But he saved it, in more ways than one, so it must matter a lot to him."

Misaki sat up, frowning at her in confusion before asking, "So?"

"So, he must trust you enough to leave it in your hands, right?"

She thought about it for a moment, before flashing Kanami a small smile. "You know," Misaki said softly, "I think you might be right."

**Author's Note:**

> give me ur thoughts


End file.
